Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sliding member including diamond like carbon (DLC) on a sliding surface thereof, and a sliding device including the sliding member.
Description of the Related Art
Materials of low friction that are self-lubricating without using oils or greases are known. Among these, DLC, which is a hard material, does not damage a sliding counterpart.
DLC is amorphous carbon having a diamond structure (sp3 mixture) and a graphite structure (sp2 mixture) mixed therein. DLC is a material having characteristics of highly hard diamond and characteristics of low-shearing graphite.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2013-53340 discloses segmenting DLC film and forming the segmented DLC film on a substrate to increase wear-resistance of a frictional contact surface.
Adhesiveness between DLC and the substrate is low. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2013-53340 is proposed to increase wear-resistance on the frictional contact surface. If DLC is segmented, the DLC segments are arranged with spaces therebetween. Therefore, planar pressure between DLC and a sliding counterpart in contact with DLC is higher than that when DLC is not segmented. If the DLC segments are arranged with spaces therebetween, DLC is easily worn out or easily removed from the substrate.